Family Guy creator Seth Macfarlane has expressed his disgust after scenes from a recent episode of his hit cartoon were edited to depict supposed similarities between the show’s plotline and the Boston bombings on Monday (15Apr13). The Turban Cowboy episode, which originally aired on America’s Fox network on 17 March (13), centres around main character Peter Griffin and his unwitting involvement with terrorists who seek to blow up bridges in Boston, and features Griffin using his cell phone to unknowingly set off two bombs.
Another segment in the same show featured Griffin reminiscing about previously winning the Boston Marathon by running competitors over in his car, leaving a trail of blood all over the road.
Clips from both parts of the storyline were cut and put together in one short video by an internet user, suggesting that Family Guy writers had predicted Monday’s attacks in the episode – but MacFarlane has taken to his Twitter.com blog to make it clear that the scenes were not related and he had nothing to do with the spoof.
In a post on Tuesday (16Apr13), he writes, “The edited Family Guy clip currently circulating is abhorrent. The event was a crime and a tragedy, and my thoughts are with the victims.”
Three people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed on Monday when two bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. More than 150 others were injured in the horrific incident, which is being investigated by the FBI as an act of terrorism.